Fundraising reports shed light on GOP primary contests

A new round of fundraising reports shed light Thursday on the state of Virginia's three most competitive Republican congressional primaries, as candidates in the June 8 contests were required to lay out the state of their finances.

• In the 11th district contest in Fairfax and Prince William counties, Oakton businessman Keith Fimian maintained his financial edge over Fairfax County Supervisor Pat Herrity in their battle to take on Rep. Gerald Connolly (D) in November. Herrity outraised Fimian for the seven-week period, taking in a total of $162,000 to Fimian's $107,000. But Fimian had $406,000 left in the bank as of May 19, compared to $96,000 for Herrity. Connolly, who is already the Democratic nominee for reelection, awaits the GOP winner with a whopping $1.1 million war chest.

• In the 5th district, which covers a wide swath from the North Carolina border up past Charlottesville, state Sen. Robert Hurt remains the leading Republican contender to face Rep. Tom Perriello (D) in the fall. Hurt raised $115,000 for the period and had $122,000 on hand as of May 19. Former airline pilot Michael McPadden had $164,000 left in the bank but only brought in $12,000 in those seven weeks.

Property developer Jim McKelvey took in $83,000 for the period -- nearly all of it from loans to himself -- but had $731 left over as of May 19. (FEC reports indicate that McKelvey has given himself another $50,000 in the last week.) Businessman Laurence Verga raised $16,000 for the period and had $61,000 left over. Schoolteacher Feda Morton brought in $30,000 and had $9,000 left in the bank, while Albemarle County Supervisor Ken Boyd had not filed his pre-primary report as of Friday. Perriello, meanwhile, has a tidy $1.6 million sitting in the bank.

• In the Hampton Roads-based 2nd district, the GOP establishment favorite -- car dealer Scott Rigell -- is in the pole position in the race to challenge freshman Rep. Glenn Nye (D). Rigell and his two main opponents, Army Reserve Gen. Bert Mizusawa and businessman Ben Loyola, have all been pouring their own money into the contest. Rigell took in $204,000 for the period, half of it from himself, and had $285,000 in the bank on May 19. Loyola raised $123,000, all but $8,000 of it from his own wallet, and showed $111,000 on hand. Mizusawa raised $84,000, with $50,000 from himself, and had $214,000 in the bank.

The fourth GOP candidate, businessman Scott Taylor, had $20,000 left to spend after raising $14,000 for the period. Nye had $1.1 million in the bank as of April 18.